Chapter 11
I learned a couple things while I was doctoring up the Prince of Persia. One: the bruise had made it look much worse than it really was. Two: torn pieces of curtains make bad compression bandages. And three: the Prince was a very good actor. He'd gone who knows how long without showing me one hint of pain, but while I was trying my best to wrap it and cushion it from the hard leather of his armor, he'd quickly cut the act and started screaming his lungs out.
What I still couldn't figure out was why it didn't heal when the Prince drank that water. The only explanation I can come up with is that it never quite healed all the way, or it healed improperly, (which is believable, considering how tight he wears his breastplate) and he kept re-breaking it. Either the Prince was living proof that it was better to be lucky than smart, or he had an angel watching over him, speaking figuratively.
We'd since then started moving again. I'd offered to go find him more water to help him heal a little faster, but he just shook his head and said he'd wait until he saw one. We'd wasted enough time there already.
"Are you sure you're alright? You keep wincing…" I said for what could've been the fifth time in the last hour or so. He kept cringing every time he would move a certain way, or breathe too deeply, and I was getting concerned.
"It's painful, but I'll last until the next fountain," he assured me again. Thankfully, we found another one and he seemed a bit better after he had a few drinks, but I wasn't about to take any chances. Still… every time I looked at the makeshift compression wrap around his waist, I felt a strong urge to grab him by the shoulders and slap him around like mad for not telling me about it in the first place.
I'd say the rest of the tower went pretty smoothly. And by smoothly, I mean we ran into a bunch of enemies, ran into Dahaka a couple times and even stopped to goof off a couple times. …Hey, if we're out here risking our asses, we deserve at least a few minutes to screw off! And I think the Prince, though he wouldn't admit it, agreed with me on that. But the good thing is that we got through without getting killed, or without serious injury.
The Prince and I stood side by side after activating the Garden Tower and we watched the results of all our hard work flow out into the moat to power up the machine in the other tower. Needless to say, we were pretty proud of ourselves. That was probably evident when we turned to each other, smiled and shook hands. But even as we silently celebrated, there was still another tower to activate and the sooner we got through it the better.
"Woohoo! One down, one left, baby!" I shouted triumphantly, whirling back into the central hall, the Prince right behind me. And guess who was there waiting fore us? I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of her smiling slightly as I flew around in circles to celebrate the activation of the first tower, but she didn't seem so happy to see the Prince.
"Oh… it's you," she said unenthusiastically as the royal approached her.
"You seem surprised to see me," he answered. I couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Kaileena folded her arms.
"Surprised only that you insist on prolonging the inevitable." I'd say the Prince had had enough of that conversation by now.
"Why did you help me?" he demanded. The Empress sighed.
"I don't know. I guess half because you remind me of the Empress, or of who I wish she could be."
"What do you mean?" the Prince questioned, now a little confused.
"Like you, she knows her own fate. She has seen it in the Timeline. But where you fight it, she has submitted. She accepts it." Kaileena shook her head, now somewhat aggravated. "They say knowledge is power, but I say it is a poison. Knowing the date and manner of her own death torments her. The closer it draws, the greater her pain." The Prince cocked his head a little.
"And you wish she would fight it, like me?" she turned away.
"Maybe it would give her something to live for." By this point, I was floating around lazily, listening to the conversation from above.
"You said that's only half the reason," the Prince pointed out, "What's the other half?" She looked at him again.
"My whole life I have known that what is written in the Timeline cannot be changed. Yet, something inside me wants you to succeed," she explained.
"And do you think I will?"
"No," she said, but then smiled, "but I admire you for trying." With that, she held out a curved blade to him. The Lion Sword. He took it without saying anything. He examined it a little, and then looked back at her with a sudden realization in his eyes.
"Your name," he said suddenly, "I haven't even asked your name, I've been so…" she cut him off.
"It's Kaileena." Then she looked away again, almost sadly. "You should go. The Hourglass is more than half empty. You haven't much time."
With that said and done, the Prince turned away and called me back down. On the way to catch up with the Prince I stopped quickly by Kaileena and lightly tapped her shoulder.
"Hey, just keep in mind one thing," I said, smirking humorously, "Smile today. It'll just get worse tomorrow." With that, I quickly few off to catch up to the Prince.
I lightly punched his shoulder to get his attention as I landed next to him. He glanced at me quickly, then returned his attention to the many paths that lead to various placed in the fortress.
"Which way, now?" he questioned. I looked around, and then pointed to the door on the opposite side to the path leading to the Garden Tower.
"That way." He used the turnstile to bring up the columns in order to get up to the doorway. I admit, I couldn't help but get a slight sense of power over him, knowing that I could just fly up there without having to tire myself out climbing and jumping and whatnot every time we had to get over something like this. And I just couldn't help but tease him.
"About time, slow poke," I taunted playfully as he finally got up to where I was waiting. I lightly poked him in the belly. He didn't say anything and threw me a death glare.
"Just because you have wings…" I heard him grumble irritably.
"Aw, don't be like that Princy," I said cheerfully, fluttering next to him. "You can have them too, just grow some!"
"Or, how about I just break yours off so you can experience all this for yourself!" he snapped back. Well, that did it. That completely killed my cheery mood. I landed, my wings drooping a little, my smile now faded, and my feelings hurt. He didn't stop, or even acknowledge that I had come to a halt.
"That wasn't nice…" I mumbled, my eyes dropping to the ground. But he was getting ahead of me already and that was bad. I reluctantly started walking again, quiet this time, and glaring at the tall…dark… handsome…… MEAN, MEAN, MEAN Persian Prince ahead of me. Boy, his mood swings were really starting to bum me out. Well, only one more tower left, then we can get all this crap done and go home.
I hope.
Kiri: damn, another hard one... Sorry it kinda sucks, but I had some writer's block to contend with. Well, not much to say except that the next few chapters might go very quickly, since I don't have much to write about during the time they're in the second tower. and also, no FAQ today... don't feel like it. Bt I need to go shower now, then I'll start on the next chapter. So until then, Ciao!
